


The Sins of the Father

by angelamulry



Category: Chalet School - Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 17:08:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19977553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelamulry/pseuds/angelamulry
Summary: Thinking about the death of Herr Goldmann. Apologies for the vagueness of the 1950s Chalet School, I wanted Maria Marani in here. Also, no Bruno. I sent him to Chalet Puppy School to learn instant obedience,





	The Sins of the Father

Seated on the wharf in Liverpool docks Jakub waited miserably to board the liner that would take them to their new lives in the New World. A world in which it was possible to live without prejudice and without fear, Father said.  
Father strode up and down, waiting for Mother who had unaccountably disappeared from the family’s view. Jakub saw that Father did not seem too upset unlike Jakub himself. Father knew where she was. Jakub did not.  
His life had been turned upside-down. Father had worked at the hospital in Munich and they all had had a nice life. Jakub had two older sisters, Hilde and Margret. They waited patiently for their mother, occasionally exchanging glances with each other, Margret holding Hilde’s hand. Jakub was not sure what was happening, there was a secret he wasn’t being told.  
He sighed and looked out at the river. It was huge and he could smell the sea salt in the air. The noisy seagulls swooped gliding around him. He would be on the ocean soon. For a child brought up in Central Europe this was a big adventure. He had seen large lakes, the Tiernsee when he had visited his grandparents, and the Starnburger See, when at home. He had slept when crossing the English Channel so had missed his first glimpse of the sea. It was an adventure, but one he did not understand. He knew that father had been determined to leave Germany and Europe. Mother had tried to persuade him to move to Austria. Grandfather had organised a job for him at the Sonnalpe at Tiernsee, but Father had declined. Mother did not want to leave without the grandparents but they declined to leave. Father warned them that life would not be easy but they said there would be no trouble in their small town. Jakub hoped they were well. Hilde was the closest to them. She had stayed in Spartz with them.  
Suddenly he saw his mother running. She was crying. She was distraught. Jakub tried to hide. Father caught Mother in his arms. “They are dead. They will never leave. Why did I? I could have protected them!” The girls had come closer and she suddenly shouted at Hilde “Your man, Hans Bocher, is responsible for this! I never want to see you and your bastard again!” She hit out and Father held her closer. Margret put an arm around Hilde who stood still as stone. The couple who had followed her stopped and waited.  
Father reached into his bag and withdrew a packet which he gave to Margret. “Take out your documents and go on board,” he said sternly. “Go to your cabin and stay there.” He waited until they had gone. Then he turned to Jakub. “Come here son,” he said. “Come with us.” Jakub approached slowly. Father put an arm around his shoulder and with Mother on his other arm the three of them walked up the gangplank. He nodded at the couple who waited for them to embark. Suddenly Mother stopped, gently released herself from Father and jumped off into the river with a loud scream. Father stood still holding onto Jakub. The crew of the liner came to see if they could help but Mother never resurfaced. The couple came up the gangplank, spoke to Father in Yiddish, too softly for Jakub to understand and helped them on to the boat. Both were dazed. The speed of events had overwhelmed them. The port authorities were searching the river with the assistance of the couple. Jakub watched. The man in a black hat and ringlets. Like a crow, he thought. His last memory of that day was his Father’s collapse into tears.

20 years later  
“Maria, was that the door?” called Joey Maynard. “Can you answer it? I’m with the twins at the moment?”  
“Of course,” Maria Marani ran down the stairs and opened the front door. Two men stood there.  
“Mrs Maynard?” asked the elder of the two, his accent betraying him as an American.  
“No. I am Miss Marani. You wish to speak to Joey?”  
“Yes please. My name is Jake Gold and this is my nephew, Gary Dyer. We would like to talk to Mrs Maynard about something that happened to Herr Goldmann in Spartz, Austria in 1938.”  
Maria turned white and looked as if she were going to faint. Jake jumped forward to catch her before, as he thought, she would faint. He called out, “Mrs Maynard, can you help?”  
Joey came down the stairs and stared. “What on earth?”  
Jake glanced at her and said, curtly, “Can we find her a seat?”  
“In here,” She said, opening the door to the Saal. She turned to Gary who was standing by the front door. “Could you go to the kitchen through there and ask Anna to make coffee for us?”  
Gary nodded and went into the kitchen. Jake helped Maria into the Saal.  
“Thank you,” said Joey. “Why?”  
Jake looked at her and at Maria. “I’m not sure whether I should speak or not,” he said doubtfully but Maria looked up. “Yes, we should,” she said. “It won’t be such a shock.”  
Joey looked at both. “What are you talking about?” she demanded. “Oh, here is Anna and your colleague with coffee. Anna makes wonderful Austrian coffee, oh and lemon biscuits. What a treat.”  
“Gary Dyer is my nephew,” explained Jake. “My surname is Gold. When I left Europe with my family, it was Goldmann. Our family came from Munich. My Grandfather lived in Spartz and was a Silversmith.”  
Joey’s mouth fell open. Maria sipped her coffee. She glanced at Gary who was sitting quietly in the window seat. He looked up.  
“Before anyone says anything else,” He said, “My father’s name was Hans Bocher. He worked for my Great Grandfather and..”  
Jake went over and put a hand in his shoulder. He looked at Joey and shook his head slightly. Joey nodded understandingly. “That must be have been difficult for you.” She said. Gary looked up and nodded. “It still is.” He said. “My mother married Brent Dyer about six months after I was born. My Grandfather has never forgiven her. He blames her for my Grandmother’s death.”  
Jake explained, “My mother killed herself after the news of her parents’ deaths. My other sister and I have to see him without my father’s knowledge.”  
Joey looked at them both. Jake changed the subject. “If you can help, please can you tell us what happened that day? We met Cornelia Van Alden and she said you were there."  
Joey frowned and turned to Maria. Can we talk about this?” she asked. Maria looked upset but nodded.  
“I also was there,” she said. “My father had disappeared by then.”  
Jake started and Gary looked up. “Disappeared?” they repeated. Maria nodded sombrely. “Into a camp. His ashes were returned to us a year later.”  
Gary winced in sympathy. At least he had his parents and family on his father’s side.  
“I knew Herr Goldmann well,” said Joey. “My watch was forever breaking and needed to be mended. He was always sympathetic and Frau Goldmann was kind. She helped all the neighbours, they were an integral part of the community.” Her audience nodded. This was known already.  
“When my father offered to pay for their passages to America they refused,” said Jake “They thought they were safe. When the news came..” he shuddered remembering the tang of sea salt and the gulls swooping down. Joey looked at him.  
“I know,” she said, “my husband was reported missing during the war. I am lucky. He did come back.”  
Maria looked at her silently. Jake picked up the coffee pot to pour her another coffee. The front door opened and a man’s voice was heard. Joey looked at the clock and gasped. Maria got up hastily, the men did the same. “Sorry, lunchtime. I’ll go to the playroom straight away.” She darted away and Joey turned to the men. “Please join my husband and I for lunch. Jack may have known your father, Gary, as he worked at the sanatorium on the Sonnalpe. Jack, these are Jake Gold and Gary Dyer. My husband, Jack Maynard.” The three men shook hands and Jack looked enquiringly at his wife.  
“Jake is the Grandson of Herr Goldmann and Gary is Jake’s nephew, and the son of Hans Bocher. Do you remember them Jack? They have come to ask about the death of their relatives.” Jack’s eyebrows went up and he quickly looked at Gary.  
“Welcome,” he said. “Do you want to freshen up before lunch? Come with me. We can talk about this then.”  
Joey served up lunch and conversation slowed whilst they ate. Jake looked at his hosts. “Where is Miss Marani?” he asked.  
“She’s lunching with my younger children,” said Joey. “If we are discussing events in Austria, I would rather she was not here.”  
Gary looked up. “Our apologies,” he said. “We were unaware of her and her history.”  
Joey smiled at him. “We know. Now about your father. Did your mother say anything about him?”  
Gary shook his head. “I think it would have been too traumatic,” he said and looked at Jake who nodded.  
Jack put down his knife and fork. “Are you sure you want to hear about your father?” he asked, then, as Gary nodded, he continued, “I knew your father. We went out drinking together as part of a group on my free days from the Sonnalpe.” Joey’s eyebrows rose. This was news to her. “His father had been invalided out of the army after the first war. He found work where and when he could. Hans went to local school but left to try and find work. His father died in 1933 and Hans had to find work to look after his family. He found support from a group of his contemporaries who were sympathetic to the Nazi ideals.  
In 1937, Hans lost his job. The family were starving. The Goldmanns stepped in, feeding the family and giving Hans a job. Your mother was staying with her grandparents and they met. They were fond of each other but there were not many places that young people could go, at that time. So, Hans and Hilde, went out walking in the evenings. Hans could not take her to meet his friends, Hilde didn’t want to admit the relationship to her grandparents and the relationship eventually foundered.  
Then Hilde found that she was pregnant. She told her grandmother who approached Hans. The Anschluss had occurred and Hans was worried about the situation he found himself in. He saw a way out in the violence engendered by the Nazis. He joined in the attack on the Goldmanns, as my wife saw, but he did not go back to their flat and kill them. He was by the church. Vater Johann saw him there as he was carried into the presbytery where he died.”  
There was a silence. Jake looked at Jack, “He wasn’t all to blame,” he said.  
Jack shook his head. “He struggled with what he felt and what he was learning through this group he was with. He was involved though, and he did direct the attack on Herr Goldmann. We cannot absolve him of that, but this had nothing to do with you or your mother.”  
Gary nodded, “Brent, my stepfather, says that. But I wanted to meet people who met and knew my father. We are going to Spartz after here and then Munich.”  
“A pilgrimage,” exclaimed Joey  
“For both of us,” said Jake. “I lived in Munich for seven years and would like to see what I remember.”  
Jack stood up. “I’m going back to the San now. Gary, would you like to come with me? Are you interested in medicine?”  
Gary looked at him and nodded. “My Grandfather, Jake’s father, is a Pathologist and I am going to Medical School next Fall.” Joey looked at Jake who grinned, “I am not interested in medicine at all. I prefer history. I can go for a walk or, have you any photos of Austria I could look at?”  
Joey’s eyes lit up. “Of course,” she said, “If you would like to come up to the playroom and meet my younger children, I could show them to you.”  
Jack and Gary set off walking to the San. Joey watched them go. “It will be good for them to talk,” she said.  
“I agree,” said Jake. “He has carried the guilt around for years. The whole family has.”  
“That is not healthy,” said Joey. Jake looked at her and smiled. “He needed to hear what happened and to have some understanding. Tell me, is it right that Robin Humphries was the first to help my Grandfather?”  
Joey looked at him sharply and nodded, “Yes, she ran out to protect him.”  
“A 14-year-old girl. Puts us all to shame,” mused Jake. Joey looked at him “Greater love hath no man,” she quoted and Jake gave her a small smile. “We are going to see her on our return,” he said.  
Joey glanced at him “This has affected you as much as Gary.”  
“Yes, and no. Father and Margret, my other sister, looked after me and we live in a good neighbourhood in New York. Many of us lost relatives and we supported each other. I met Cornelia when she came to talk about her experiences in Austria to our Youth Group. It was interesting to hear a gentile viewpoint. She spoke about the attack on my Grandfather. I spoke to her afterwards, explaining that he was my grandfather and she gave me your and Robin’s details.”  
Joey looked thoughtful. “Thank you for sharing that with me,” she said. “Now I’ll leave you here with Maria and the children, whilst I make a couple of phone calls. Would you like to stay here tonight? There are some other people I would like you to meet.”  
A large gathering met at Freudesheim that evening. Joey had invited Miss Annersley, Miss Wilson, Rosalie Dene, Matron, Mademoiselle Lachennais, Nancy Wilmot, Biddy O’Ryan and Hilary Graves. The stories of school life in the Tyrol caused hilarity. Maria Marani added her reminiscences of life in the Tyrol, Jake added his of Munich. Miss Annersley looked pensive. She would have liked to ask him to talk to her history classes about life in Nazi Munich, then she realised most of the staff could do that. Perhaps produce a book of life in pre-war Austria and the gradual Nazification. Maybe future generations might be interested. She came back to the present with a start. Miss Wilson was filling in some details of the attack in Spartz and Hilary and Jo narrated the story of their escape from Austria. By the end of the evening, Gary looked a lot more content. He had learned more about his father and the context in which the attack took place. Jake was also happy that his Grandparents would never be forgotten.  
“This is all in the past now,” said Miss Wilson at the end of the evening. “It is up to you and your generation to make sure that this violence and hate stays there.”  
The two men went to bed thoughtfully. It had been a busy and tiring day and both had much to consider.  
The next morning, they left, after promising to return at some point in the future. They also had a number of letters and gifts to give to Robin.  
Joey ran after them as they left. She handed over a book. “This is ‘Nancy Meets a Nazi’ I wrote it all out there. It is a children’s book and I know that wartime books are not popular now but it may help.”  
Gary smiled, “You have all helped tremendously.” He said, “I am looking forward to visiting Spartz now. My father was guilty but he was one of the group. Grandmother was wrong in blaming him totally.”  
“That is probably because you were on the way,” said Jake. “She did not live to see the bigger picture.”  
“Do you still want to know what happened to your father? Do you think he is still alive?” asked Joey.  
“No, I don’t think he is alive,” said Gary. “We may find out but I’m not going to look for him. I’m leaving it all in the past. I need to look forward. So do you, Jake. Let’s do that.”  
“After we’ve met Robin,” replied Jake. “I want to meet the brave girl who first went to Grandfather’s help. The one who first stood up to the Nazis. Then, we can look forward to the future.”  
Joey watched them depart and went back into the house. Jack came out of his study. “They will be fine,” he said. “Nice boys.”  
Joey looked indignantly at him “Boys!” she said, “Jake is in his middle to late 20s!”  
“And hasn’t found himself yet. His mother died in front of him. She jumped into the River Mersey as they were leaving for America. Gary told me. He didn’t want to share that with us.”  
Joey looked horrified. “No, he didn’t. Poor boy. I could feel that he was struggling. I’m going to write to Robin and give her some background before she meets them.”  
Jack nodded, “Good idea. Oh, and Hilda was muttering something about a book of contemporary accounts of Austrian pre-war life, which she thought you may be able to compile. A way of preserving the Chalet School forever I think!”  
He quickly left the house while Joey stood open mouthed. Why would they need to preserve the Chalet School? It would last. It’s ideas and ethos would continue. Then the idea of a documentary book about the Austrian years gripped her and she grabbed the phone to demand to talk to Miss Annersley immediately.


End file.
